


polaroids on the hardwood floor

by xogray



Series: percabeth oneshots [51]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Mortal, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, New Years, Song: New Year's Day (Taylor Swift)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-09
Updated: 2021-03-09
Packaged: 2021-03-15 15:20:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,268
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29935404
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xogray/pseuds/xogray
Summary: “is that-” he said quietly, his voice faltering. but she knew what he was asking.is that us?and the answer was yes. percy was currently holding a polaroid of the two of them from last night, him still in those ridiculous glasses, with their lips pressed together. it was a photo of them kissing.- or the one in which they're cleaning up bottles on new year's day
Relationships: Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson
Series: percabeth oneshots [51]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1839274
Comments: 6
Kudos: 157





	polaroids on the hardwood floor

annabeth sighed, looking from percy to the floor. to put it lightly, it was a fucking mess. the dark wooden floor was a mess of confetti, glitter, and the occasional snapshot from the polaroid piper bought. bottles, cups, cans, and paper plates littered the tables.

“i regret offering to help you clean,” she stated simply. annabeth had a headache and all she wanted was to crawl back into percy’s bed, where she’d woken up today.

“i can’t believe it got this messy,” he said. “i don’t remember it getting this bad.”

“um, that’s because you blacked out, genius.” annabeth began picking up bottles and taking them to the trashcan in the kitchen. which was full. she sighed again, setting the bottles on the counter to take the overflowing bag out.

“oh, i’m sorry,” percy said with a teasing smile. “and how much of last night do you remember then?”

annabeth tied the trash bag off silently before searching for a new one. “probably more than you,” she mumbled. in reality, that may not have been true. neither of them remembered the ball drop, the start of the new year, or anything after that. 

“mhm,” he hummed, placing the stack of used paper plates he had in his hand into the trash once annabeth had gotten the bag secured around the rim of the plastic trash can. 

she began walking back towards the living room, snatching up a polaroid from the floor. it was a picture of piper on leo’s back, both of them in the middle of laughing. “i think i remember taking this,” she said, handing it to percy with a smile. he chuckled, setting it down next to the tv on the console table before picking up another next to his foot. 

“oh, god,” he groaned. annabeth reached for it but he pulled it further away from her. “absolutely not, you’ll bully me for the rest of my life.”

“i’m already going to do that regardless, let me see,” she said, moving into his space to reach for it. percy fought back for a moment, using his other arm to keep her away. annabeth was surprised that even in his hungover state, he was still incredibly strong. his muscled arm holding her back was almost distracting. finally, he relented, handing it to her.

she grinned as she took it and almost immediately, she threw her head back with laughter. “i want this framed,” she said. the photo was percy, completely passed out in his bed with blue glittery 2021 glasses on and a line of drool coming from the corner of his open mouth. “god, this is gold.”

“okay, okay,” he said, plucking it back from her fingers before she could protest. annabeth already had it burned into her memory, so she didn’t care. he looked at it once more, shaking his head and setting it with the one of piper and leo. “i didn’t wake up with those glasses on.”

“i think they’re on the nightstand.” they both continued collecting bottles, cups, and cans, taking them into the kitchen to throw them away.

“i wonder who took them off, though.”

annabeth shrugged. a few of the drinks still had liquid in them so those were poured down the sink before being tossed out. once those were cleared, she reached for the broom. “whoever bought those confetti poppers, i’m killing them.”

percy was silent and when annabeth looked at him, his lips were pursed and he looked guilty. she shook her head at him. “i’m going to kill you.”

“fine, let me sweep,” he said, holding his hand out, “pick up other trash you see. if you find any more polaroids, you can set them on the console table or something.”

annabeth happily handed the broom over to him, turning her attention to the coffee and end tables, which also had confetti on them amongst used napkins, party glasses, and a few empty confetti poppers. as she picked them up, she realized one of them was still full of glitter. annabeth looked at percy sweeping and didn’t think twice. “hey, perce,” she said. the second he looked up, she pulled the tab on the back, releasing the confetti. “happy new year.”

he blinked several times, unamused. annabeth, on the other hand, wore a giant smile. “i despise you, you know that?” he said. 

“oh, shut up,” she laughed. “you haven’t even swept over here yet.”

“i still despise you.”

after that, they fell into silence as she cleaned the tables and the counters of the kitchen and he cleaned the floor. the only times they spoke were when one of them found a picture funny enough to mention. once the countertops were no longer sticky, though she had no idea why they were in the first place, she reentered the living room. the hardwood floor was almost clean. there were definitely still tiny specks of glitter  _ everywhere _ but she expected nothing less.

her eyes scanned the room for any more trash. instead, she saw the corner of a polaroid peeking out from under the loveseat. she walked over and reached down to pick it up. when she looked at it, she nearly dropped it right back down to the floor. 

annabeth stared at the picture, double and triple-checking to make sure she was seeing this right. and once she’d convinced herself that it  _ was _ real, she was desperately trying to recall the memory.

“what’s that?” percy asked, leaning the broom against the wall. annabeth looked at him, then the picture, then him. his eyebrows furrowed and he walked closer. “what?”

she wordlessly held it out to him. percy took it and she watched as he looked at it. he blinked a few times. “is that-” he said quietly, his voice faltering. but she knew what he was asking. 

_ is that us? _

and the answer was yes. percy was currently holding a polaroid of the two of them from last night, him still in those ridiculous glasses, with their lips pressed together. it was a photo of them kissing.

she held out her hand again for the picture and he gave it back to her. his hands were on her waist and her arms were around his neck and they were both smiling into the kiss. annabeth wondered if this was taken at midnight, maybe they’d drunkenly agreed to be each other new year’s kiss. 

she couldn’t remember and for the first time that day, she genuinely regretted how much she drank last night. she so badly wanted to have the memory of this moment. she wanted to know what it felt like to kiss percy, something she’d imagined every moment of every day since they’d met.

“what’s wrong?” he asked quietly. annabeth’s eyes snapped up and she realized then that she was frowning, her eyebrows drawn in together.

“nothing,” she lied. “i just don’t remember this happening, obviously. and i’m surprised that someone even took a picture of it.”

she was also silently grateful someone had taken it because now, she at least knew that at one point in her life, she had kissed percy. she didn’t remember it, but it happened. 

“do you think it was taken at midnight?” he asked. 

she shrugged. “that’s what i was thinking.”

“hm,” he hummed quietly, taking the picture once more and looking at it. annabeth studied his face, trying to figure out what he was thinking. a tiny smile grew on his face. “can i keep this?” he asked quietly. 

annabeth tried to hold back her frown when his eyes met hers again. “i was gonna ask the same thing,” she said quietly, forcing her tone to stay light. he was silent for a second before holding it out. 

“it’s yours,” he said gently. 

“thanks,” she whispered. she took it, looking at it one more time before setting it with the others. a heavy silence settled between them as they finished cleaning. the entire time, annabeth was continuously replaying last night in her head. over and over again, hoping for the memory of their kiss to resurface. 

but it never did. 

the few times she looked at percy, he looked lost in thought, too. annabeth wondered if he was trying to remember it. if he wanted to remember the feeling of their lips pressed together. 

as he tied off the second full trash bag of the day, annabeth collapsed on the couch. at some point, they’d both gotten aspirin and water so her headache was thankfully gone. she sat there with her eyes closed and her head back until the sofa dipped next to her, percy’s arm against hers as he sat down. she simply rolled her head onto his shoulder, leaning into him. 

“i’m about to crawl back into your bed and take a nap,” she said. 

“i might join you,” he replied. annabeth could hear the sleepiness in his voice and it did nothing to stop her heartbeat from speeding up at the thought of sleeping next to him. something she’d done a million times, yet it always affected her just the same. he added, “if i don’t fall asleep here first.”

“mmm,” she hummed, pulling herself up and standing. she held out her hands for him. when he took them, she carefully tugged him up and suddenly he was right in front of her, their hands locked between them. “um,” she breathed, stepping back a bit. “come on.”

she let go of his hand reluctantly and made her way down the hall, hearing his footsteps follow her. annabeth immediately took her place on the right side of the bed, burying herself under the covers. she watched as he changed from a hoodie to a shirt, silently appreciating his back muscles. just before he turned around, though, she dropped her gaze. 

the bed dipped next to her and she looked at him again to find his eyes trained on the ceiling. he was still deep in thought just like he had been earlier. 

“perce,” she whispered. his head turned and they locked eyes and annabeth was suddenly very awake. “are we… like, okay?”

he frowned. “of course,” he answered. “why?”

she shrugged halfheartedly. “you’ve looked a little off since you saw that picture,” she whispered. “i didn’t know if you… felt weird about it. or something.”

he hesitated, making her stomach turn with anxiety. 

“i don’t,” he said gently. “i just… wish i could remember.”

she stared at him, trying to figure out his exact meaning there. “remember the whole night? or the kiss?”

at the word  _ kiss, _ his eyes flicked down to her lips for just a second but she noticed it. annabeth didn’t even mean to hold her breath as she waited for his reply. 

“both,” he said. “but… mainly the kiss.”

she swallowed. “me too.”

“both?” he asked, his eyes once again flicking down to her mouth. 

“both,” she said. “but mainly the kiss.”

another heavy silence as they looked at each other. it should’ve been awkward, and maybe it was a tiny bit. but it was mostly just charged with tension. 

percy licked his lips briefly but annabeth caught the movement with her eyes and she felt like she was going to scream. just as she was about to finally say something, though she wasn’t even sure what, percy moved closer. 

he rolled towards her and shifted until they were pressed together under the blankets. his hand migrated to her waist and hers moved to his chest. he was so close that she could smell the remnants of his cologne from last night. 

“annabeth,” he breathed, “can-“

“god, please.”

she barely caught his little grin as he leaned in and kissed her. 

annabeth can imagine that their kiss last night was probably playful and sweet, full of laughter and nothing more than a few seconds of his lips against hers. 

this kiss was nothing like that. 

this kiss was fast and desperate and full of tension that had been building, maybe from the moment they met. annabeth all but melted into him as her hand drifted up to his jaw. he pulled her closer by her waist, his hand sliding down to the small of her back. years of repressed feelings bled out of her as she put every ounce of love she had for him into their kiss. her headache was starting to come back but she ignored it, holding him tight and rolling onto her back, him following so that he was hovering above her.

it was easy to lose track of time like that, underneath him with their lips moving together. it all felt so easy, like they’d been doing it their whole lives. little by little, the kissing went from quick and desperate to slow and drawn out, like they had all the time in the world. when percy pulled away, annabeth’s headache had returned full force and she felt just as hungover as she had when she woke up. and yet, a smile grew on her face as she stared up at him.

“i’m gonna guess we didn’t kiss like that last night,” annabeth said quietly. percy laughed quietly and nodded.

“probably not,” he agreed. “should’ve though.”

“maybe we did. we wouldn’t have remembered it, right?”

she expected percy to laugh, but he simply smiled and shook his head. “it’d be impossible not to remember that,” he whispered. annabeth’s heart swelled in her chest as she recognized the adoration in his eyes.

she tilted her head with a teasing grin. “you think so?”

he leaned down to capture her lips in another kiss, slow and sweet. “definitely.”

  
  



End file.
